So I contacted DJI and my worst fear was realized.... there is nothing you can do except return it to DJI and let them service it. I understand they'll have to go through it and calibrate this and that but had I not been such a newbie and thought about that, I would have never bought a product that I am forced to deal with the manufacturer only.

Another lesson learned.... buy something you can replace, fix or get spare parts for.

Once I get it back, I think I'll be selling it. I like it but I'm already forced to deal with Apple in this way and don't really want to be forced to send an entire craft across the country every time something happens.

So after some searching, it might be repairable since apparently there are some parts available. Here's some pics.

Bracket for gimbal- available for about 80-100 bucks.

Mark

Click to expand...

Hey Mark

My Inspire had an argument with a rugby post when I was getting too cocky and your damage to the ribbon cables and mounting plate looks EXACTLY the same as mine ! Even your broken prop looks like mine.
The only difference is that my gimbal arm stayed in one piece and so the camera and gimbal are still serviceable.
I was about to pack mine off to DJI in Germany and not see it again for months and then I thought maybe I could replace the parts myself. I spent hours searching the internet for a ribbon cable and gimbal mounting plate. These are the two parts I eventually ordered from Toemen in Holland.
1 x DJI Inspire 1 Gimbal Mount & Plate (PART41) = €75,00
1 x DJI Inspire 1 Fast mounting Gimbal port cable (PART17) = €7,50

However it's 3 weeks since I ordered and they still haven't been dispatched. However the good news is that I've managed to make some repairs albeit it temporary and the bird is back flying again. Your plastic gimbal mounting plate broke in exactly the place as mine, so it must be a weak point. I superglued mine back together, and it's holding fine because the weight of the gimbal is taken by the grommets and not by the mounting plate. I managed to get the broken ribbon cable connected again and held in place by some silicon glue as the plastic catch that holds it in place was broken.

As a precaution I've put a couple of plastic cable ties through the front grommets , so if the mounting plate breaks again where it's been glued , the cable ties will hold the gimbal and camera in place.

Thanks for the reply, I did find the necc. parts but I obviously will need the gimbal which means buying the camera. Though I hate to spend 600-700 bucks repairing it, if parts are available, it's not too bad.

In this case, I'll probably send it to DJI because they have a better chance of having the parts than all these part companies that are showing it but not in stock.

I can see the two weak points is where the gimbal attaches to the aircraft and the flat bracket/plate. One needs reinforced, one needs to be aluminum.